Backstory

Global communications and corporate affairs agency Atrevia is a female-led powerhouse in the Spanish-speaking world. It was founded in 1998 by president Núria Vilanova, one of the most influential female business leaders in Spain, and is now led day-to-day by CEO Asunción Soriano Cuesta, who has been with the firm for 28 years and was the driving force behind the agency’s expansion into public affairs, corporate sustainability, digital transformation and social intelligence. In 2023, Atrevia further expanded its capabilities and market reach with two acquisitions: the firm bought 70% of Spanish-based communications agency Microbio Comunicacion to enhance its creative service offer, and strengthened its presence in South America by buying 100% of Nueva Comunicación in Uruguay. Atrevia’s approach is to help clients address complex, multi-stakeholder challenges through strategic listening, creativity, and a fusion of agency and consulting services, and its mission is to be an agent of change in driving a sustainable future. 

Locations

Atrevia is headquartered in Spain and has 15 offices around the world. It has European offices in Portugal and Brussels, and has a presence in the US and across Latin America, with offices in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Miami, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

Performance

Atrevia increased its total fee income by an impressive 21% last year, to €48.3m. The bulk of this – €36.6m – came from its work in Europe. The agency also expanded its workforce from 439 to 600, with 30 nationalities represented. The firm’s client roster includes AstraZeneca, Lidl, Pfizer, Lilly and Vueling. 

People & Culture

Atrevia achieved B Corp status in 2023 – a concrete illustration of its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. The agency also increased its focus on DEI, updating its Equality Plan with new sections on equity and inclusion. Atrevia is proudly female-led, with women representing 64% of the team and 55% of management. The agency has a long-standing commitment to integrating people with disabilities into its workforce, and has collaborated with Special Employment Centers in Spain for 14 years. Atrevia holds the EFR (Family Responsible Company) certification, and its policies, including remote working, childcare support and a wellness policy, enable employees to balance their work and personal lives and emphasise the physical and emotional wellbeing of the team. The new Atrevia Active campaign showcases the agency’s progressive approach to ESG and diversity, with the aim of promoting female leadership and intergenerational integration, helping companies in sustainable transformation, fostering cooperation among Latin American companies, and driving sustainable and inclusive digital society initiatives aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Thought Leadership & Work

In 2023, Atrevia published its 11th ‘Women on the Boards of Directors of Listed Companies’ report, in partnership with IESE Business School in Barcelona, continuing its commitment to supporting female leadership. Its monthly 'Latin American Keys' report on social-political and economic dynamics across the region is also well-established, and its Brussels office produces regular reports on EU policy developments. The agency has been shortlisted for a campaign with Tena Men, which sought to break taboos around men’s health and male incontinence via a comedy podcast series. Other standout work during the year included a campaign to mark 20 years of European DIY chain Brico Depot. 

— Maja Pawinska Sims

Backstory

Founded as a tech agency in 2006 by Deborah Gray, Canela started adding lifestyle clients to the mix in 2018, a move that led the agency to embrace more creative comms campaigns, including influencer work for brands. Part of Canela’s appeal is not just its strength in Spain and the Portuguese market (where it’s been for eight years), but also its active membership of the global Brands2Life network of independent consultancies. Canela was one of the first PR agencies in Spain and Portugal to receive B Corp certification. The agency is working toward having 50% of its clients be players in the regenerative economy by the end of 2024.

Locations

Canela has offices in Barcelona, Lisbon and Madrid.

Performance

With the support of 30 employees across Spain and Portugal, Canela had a solid 2023, during which fee income rose 10% to €1.9, on top of an outstanding 41% lift in 2022. Fueling growth was new business from B Lab, Club Med, Geske, Hinge, Norrsken, Onfido, Streamlabs, Too Good to Go and Utiq. Canela’s noteworthy list of existing clients includes Adyen, Kone, Locus Robotics, Palo Alto Networks, Sony and Velux. Also in 2023, Canela expanded its digital and studio departments, boosting audiovisual, branding, design, SEO, social listening and web services. 

People & Culture

Founder Deborah Gray has instilled her commitment to positive change in Canela’s culture as well as its work. A best agency to work for finalist for the last six years, Canela employee surveys show the team is very much in sync with the agency’s values (4.7/5). The agency is committed to hiring and developing young talent; Canela currently employees five graduate trainees (24 % of Canela’s staff are members of past classes have gone on to build their careers at the agency). The firm accommodates employees as needed with reduced schedules and a hybrid work model. In addition to Gray, who runs the business as CEO, Canela’s leadership includes financial director Alejandro Reguera, Canela Spain director Alba Calvet, and Canela Portugal director Catarina Oliveira. 

Thought Leadership & Work

One of the first comms agencies in Spain and Portugal to receive B Corp certification, Canela last year produced its first impact report demonstrating its commitment to social and environmental impact, transparency and corporate responsibility. The agency joined the Clean Creatives movement (it hasn’t with fossil fuel clients and says it never will). Also last year, Canela produced a whitepaper exploring comms challenges in Spain and Portugal — and how the two countries are culturally very different despite their proximity. Key work included helping dog grooming/boarding company Rover.com reach pet owners by creating a digital guide to traveling with pets.

— Diana Marszalek

Backstory

Evercom’s strengths across consumer, corporate, public affairs, tech and healthcare positioned the firm to come out of 2023 ahead for the third consecutive year, despite Spain’s tenuous economy. Evercom’s success also stems from operating under its guiding tenet, honed during the pandemic: that Evercom’s role is compassionately strengthening the ties among people, companies, and institutions, while putting clients — and their purpose — at the center of conversations and movements. Evercom’s shift toward digital storytelling has resulted in a full-scale embrace of a multichannel model to disperse content created with a healthy dose of verve and ingenuity. 

Locations

Evercom is based in Spain, with offices in Madrid and Barcelona. 

Performance

Evercom capped 2023 as an €8.7 million operation, experiencing a nearly 11% lift in a year the Spanish economy was still trying to bounce back from Covid and impacted by the war in Ukraine. Doubling down on digital storytelling, and elevating clients’ purposes, members of Evercom’s 112-person staff focused on helping companies become more resilient and more innovative so they can build new communications bonds with their stakeholders in the face of uncertainty. Evercom expanded services to include CommsEnergy and CommsTalent groups focused on the energy sector and internal comms respectively. All of which has led to Evercom’s impressive list of new and existing clients including Aspapel, Canadian Solar, Mowi Carrefour, Lidl, Lenovo, Deutsche Bank, Amundi, Alain Afflelou, Canon, Ecovidrio, Grover, Suntory Beverage & Food and Cloudera.

People & Culture

More than quarter century after co-founding the firm, Alberte Santos continues to run Evercom with the same dedication to growing the business through traditional underpinnings of successful PR — creativity and fervor — and 21st century storytelling and distribution.  Evercom is equally committed to promoting equality, particularly for women, in and outside the office, and is actively collaborating with advocacy organizations focused on women’s inclusion and poverty. A fervent proponent and promoter of purpose, Evercom is shifting its work to emphasize the role companies play in progress, turning the focus of campaigns from clients’ market leadership to social leadership. Last year, Evercom earned Bureau Veritas’ ISO 9001 certification, which recognizes companies’ quality control and  seal issued by Bureau Veritas that recognizes the excellence of companies in complying with quality control metrics and evaluates factors such as customer focus, internal leadership and a vocation for continuous improvement.

Thought Leadership & Work

Evercom’s 2023 work included launching Motorola’s first professional phone, Thinkphone, in Spain by driving interest among tech and business press through product demonstrations and discussions with experts. The 10 articles published post-event reached 72.4 million readers. Other key work includes boosting awareness of Cloudera’s data management platform through media relations, executing a marketing and comms program for Beko focused on health innovation around two mottos — “Eat like a pro” and “Live like a pro.” 

— Diana Marszalek

Backstory

European firms are having a moment with more and more making acquisitions to extend their international reach, but Spanish giant LLYC was the first firm from the continent to tap into private equity to satisfy its global ambitions, and as a result has built itself into a global powerhouse with operations across the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking markets of the world, while also expanding beyond its corporate and financial roots to develop full-service capabilities (consumer and healthcare work is now as impressive as corporate and public affairs) and strengthened its digital marketing, influence, creativity, and deep learning offerings.

Locations

While much of the focus in recent years has been on LLYC’s work in Latin America, the firm still derives a little more than half of global revenue from its European operations, which include offices in Madrid and Barcelona in its native Spain, as well as a robust presence in Lisbon and an operation in Brussels. It has additional reach (including the UK and Germany) through its affiliate partnership with FGS Global.

Performance

LLYC reported a strong financial performance in 2021, with a 14% increase in operating revenues from €72.7 million in 2020 to €83.1 million—with about €35.5 million of that in continental Europe. The growth was largely due to the company's investment of €1.3 million in innovation, particularly in proprietary data analysis tools, and the broadening of its service offer beyond its corporate and financial roots. Major clients include industry giants like Sky, Microsoft, AB Inbev, Hitachi, Bayer Cropscience, Havaianas, Airbnb, Vinci Energies, Nestle, Aldi, Naturgy, Pernod Ricard, GSK, IKEA, Siemens, Coca Cola, and new additions included Quintana Roo, UNICEF, Bacardi, World Duty Free Group, Mango, Disney +, Cabify, Unode50, Entravision, Germaine Capuccini. 

People & Culture

The year ended with the sad news that LLYC founder Jose Antonio Llorente had lost his battle with cancer and passed away. But the firm remains very much the one that he created, from its global leadership team—Alejandro Romero was promoted to the global CEO role in November of 2022; Luisa Garcia is global COO; Luis Miguel Pena now leads the EMEA business—to its internal culture. LLYC is highly committed to diversity and inclusion, with women holding more than 45% of management roles. The agency has set a goal to increase this to 50% by 2025.It has also taken steps to become a leading workplace for the LGBTIQI+ community alongside its broader focus on employee growth and development.

Thought Leadership & Work

The agency's commitment to data-driven decision-making is demonstrated through its investment in proprietary data analysis algorithms, including an AI model for measuring reputational polarity. The agency's Deep Learning team has completed more than 120 data intelligence projects, analyzing billions of messages to assist clients in making informed decisions. Notable creative work includes the SABRE-nominated Rainbot, which transforms LGBTQ+ hate tweets into celebratory poems, and the “Tasty Leftovers” campaign for Aldi, powered by AIGent, an AI Agent developed by LLYC.

— Paul Holmes

Backstory

Twenty years ago, Paula Carrera and Xurxo Torres, veterans of Burson-Marsteller and LLYC respectively, created Torres y Carrera with an eye on growing a global consulting firm with local presence and flair. Launched in Vigo, an industrial city in Northwest Spain, T&C started with focuses of local importance — workers, the environment and public administration. Since then, however, the firm has achieved its global goal, operating offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Vigo, Valencia, and Mexico City and leading a network of independent agencies, COMbyCOM, that provide T&C clients on-the-ground teams in much of Latin America. 

Locations

Torres & Carrera has offices in Madrid, Barcelona, Vigo, Valencia, and Mexico City, leads a network of agencies throughout Latin America that provides services in Lisbon, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Quito, Montevideo and Bogatá.  

Performance

After taking serious hits from Covid, Torres y Carrera continued to rebound in 2023 following a regard 2022. The agency’s €3.8 million in fee income was a new high for the firm resulting from 30% fiscal year-over-year growth. T&C’s 54-person team supported new business from Sigma Group, Abbvie (new therapic áreas), SEMERGEN (Spanish Society of Primary Care Doctors), Spanish Society of Nutrition (SEÑ), Mexican Brewers Association and Gradiant, which joined a client roster already populated by Coca-Cola, AbbVie, Primark, Iberia Express, Lactalis Group, Enterprise and UCB Pharma.

People & Culture

Twenty years in, T&C is still governed by its commitment to people and the environment, which guides the firm’s internal operations as much as its client counsel. By creating a culture that values diverse opinions and people, T&C has created a culture where all employees have opinions that count — and full opportunity to further their careers. T&C has been a United Nations Global Compact signatory since 2009 and became a member in 2013. All of Torres y Carrera's operations and professional activities are carried out in accordance with the 10 principles established by the Global Compact addressing human rights, labour standards, environment and anti-corruption. The agency’s management team is 87% female. In addition to Carrera and Torres, key leaders include managing partners Nieves Barousse and Bárbara Navarro and Barcelona director Betina Pons. 

Thought Leadership & Work

After four years researching the fake news phenomenon, co-founder and director general Xurxo Torres last year published a book on the subject, “A Fake World.” Other issues T&C addressed included advances in medicine and the challenges and inequities that prevented people worldwide from having access to quality healthcare. The agency also drew attention to water-related issues and the importance water plays in guaranteeing society of the future. Client work included using Vorwerk’s 140th anniversary to generate interest in products including the Thermomix. For biotech company Amgen, T&C produced a short film that would connect experts in health, genetics, medical research and new technologies with consumers.

— Diana Marszalek